2008 Lebanon conflict

The 2008 Lebanon conflict was a week-long period of clashes between the pro-government Future Movement and Progressive Socialist Party and the pro-Hezbollah Amal Movement, Lebanese Democratic Party, SSNP, and the Arab Democratic Party. The conflict left 27 pro-government fighters, 20 pro-Hezbollah fighters, 23 Lebanese civilians, 1 Australian civilian, 17 Lebanese Army soldiers, and 2 Lebanese policemen dead, and it resulted in the Doha Agreement, under which the Parliament would appoint consensus candidate Michel Suleiman as President and form a national unity government.

Background
In the aftermath of the Cedar Revolution of 2005, Lebanese politics was divided between the pro-Syria and predominantly Shi'ite March 8 Alliance and the anti-Syria and predominantly Catholic, Sunni, and Druze March 14 Alliance. On 1 December 2006, the pro-Syria Hezbollah and Amal Movement parties led a series of protests and sit-ins against Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and they were backed by other pro-Syrian parties, including the Marada Movement, the Lebanese Communist Party, and the SSNP. They protested against the March 14 Alliance government, which was backed by the Future Movement, Progressive Socialist Party, and Lebanese Forces. The protests began as the result of the Shia walkout from the government in reaction to a government tribunal blaming Syria and Hezbollah for Prime Minister Rafic Hariri's assassination a year earlier, and the Shia walkout led to the government becoming sectionally unbalanced and biased in favor of the anti-Syria camp. This led to a political crisis, as the Parliament was supposed to choose a new President to succeed Emile Lahoud, whose term had expired. As the crisis intensified, Hezbollah began planning an attack on the Beirut International Airport (setting up security cameras to stake out the airport), and, on 6 May 2008, the Lebanese government announced that it would be shutting down Hezbollah's telecommunications network and firing the Hezbollah-affiliated airport security chief Wafic Shkeir.

Conflict
On 7 May 2008, a labor strike which was planned before the month of May turned into clashes between pro- and anti-government militiamen, with Hezbollah men blocking the roads and pro-government militiamen throwing stones at them. Around the city, pro-Hezbollah protesters began carrying machine guns and weapons, blocking roads with burning tires. Hezbollah cut off Beirut International Airport and occupied Beirut Port, and they soon came to control all of West Beirut. On 8 May 2008, heavy street battles began after Nasrallah declared war on the government, and machine-guns and RPGs were used by both sides. The Lebanese Army stayed out of the conflict lest its soldiers be broken up along sectarian lines, and the clashes spread to Sidon and Aley on 9 May. On 10 May 2008, an Amal Movement-affiliated shopkeeper ambushed a Sunni funeral procession and killed 6 people as revenge for Sunni militants burning his shop down. That same day, 100 Future Movement gunmen attacked an SSNP office in Halba, killing 10 SSNP members, 3 government loyalists, and an Australian citizen of Lebanese descent who was attempting to flee the country. Also, Progressive Socialist Party and Hezbollah fighters engaged in heavy fighting at Mount Lebanon, and the PSP ultimately held control of the region until they handed it over to the military. From 10 to 11 May, clashes broke out between Alawites and Sunnis in Tripoli, leaving a woman dead. On 11 May, opposition-controlled areas in Beirut were handed over to the Lebanese Army, but many roads remained blocked as the opposition turned to civil disobedience. From 13 to 14 May, as clashes were renewed in Beirut, the Army deployed to keep the peace, and, on 14 May, the pro-government and anti-government forces reached a deal to stop the fighting. On 21 May 2008, as per the Doha Agreement, Parliament selected consensus candidate Michel Suleiman as the new President, the opposition secured veto-wielding power in the government, and a new electoral law was passed which would further empower the opposition in the 2009 parliamentary elections. Sporadic clashes continued for the rest of the year, but a civil war was averted.